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Alpha 3
This anthology contains: The Gift of Gab by Jack Vance; Beyond Lies the Wub by Philip K. Dick; Under Old Earth by Cordwainder Smith; Total Environment by Brian W. Aldiss; The Shadow of Space by Philip Jose Farmer; Rescue Party by Arthur C. Clarke; Nine Hundred Grandmothers by R. A. Lafferty; Day Million by Frederik Pohl; Come to Venus Melancholy by Thomas M. Disch; and Aristotle and the Gun by L. Sprague de Camp.
277 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
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About the author
Robert Silverberg
2,215 books1,584 followersThere are many authors in the database with this name.
Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 4, 2020
The Alpha series of anthologies featured stories that Silverberg felt had superior literary merit but that were not very well known to modern (1972) readers. This third volume presented a great mix of styles and authors; traditional hard sf from Arthur C. Clarke and L. Sprague de Camp, new wave sf from Thomas M. Disch and Brian W. Aldiss, intelligent literary sf from Cordwainer Smith and Jack Vance, and quirky sf from Philip K. Dick and R.A. Lafferty, not to mention Philip Jose Farmer and Frederik Pohl. The Alpha series is a good introduction to the state of short fiction in the genre in the '50s and '60s.
January 28, 2021
Robert Silverberg's Alpha series are anthologies of very good SF stories, all aiming to show the scope of good science fiction. Volume 3 includes stories by, among others, Brian W. Aldiss, R. A. Lafferty, Cordwainer Smith, Jack Vance, L. Sprague de Camp, and Thomas Disch.
"Total Environment" by Brian Aldiss is set in the near future (or since it was written in 1968, actually now a few years in our past). As an experiment to help deal with overpopulation, a huge structure with 10 levels is built, and group of volunteers are sent inside. They agree that they and their descendants will live there. They'll be fed well, but can not leave and they'll be monitored to see if population pressure over the generations causes them to develop any special abilities. The results are horrific, even though some of them do develop abilities. The story deals with an external inspector who goes inside to determine more of what's going on, and how this brings about an end to the experiment. The situation is very well described, very believable, and quite unsettling.
"Day Million" by Fred Pohl is a remarkable literary experiment. It starts:
On this day I want to tell you about, which will be about ten thousand years from now, there were a boy, a girl, and a love story.
Now, although I haven't said much so far, none of it true.
And it goes on from there. It's stylistically innovative and also solid SF, all in six pages.
"Aristotle and the Gun" by L. Sprague de Camp is the story of a scientist who goes back in time to meet Aristotle, in hopes of convincing him to use more of the scientific method, and that he'll return to his time to a world were the scientific revolution started much earlier and the world would be much more scientific and rational. But it doesn't work out that way.
"Under Old Earth" by Cordwainer Smith is another Instrumentality of Mankind story. It's set early in the time of the Rediscovery of Man, just as the Instrumentality begins to decide that trying to make everyone happy all the time, trying to banish everything bad, may make people less human. It's a hard story to summarize, so I'll just say that, like almost all of Smith's work, it rewards reading (and rereading).
"Come to Venus Melancholy" by Thomas Disch is about a woman who has become a "cyborg" (in this case, an immobile body embedded within electronics, her relationship with her husband on Venus, and her love of Milton's poetry. Like "Total Environment," it's a bit of an unsettling read, but it's very well written and a wonderful story, one of the best in a great book.
The volume also includes such well known stories as "Rescue Party" by Arthur C. Clarke, "Nine Hundred Grandmothers" by R. A. Lafferty, and "Beyond Lies the Wub" by Philip K. Dick, as well as an atypical (but still good) Jack Vance story, "The Gift of Gab."
The only story in the book that I thought was just OK (worth reading but nothing special) was Phil Farmer's "The Shadow of Space." It was written in 1967, but in most ways it read more like a story from the mid-1930s.
Overall, though, another strong anthology.
"Total Environment" by Brian Aldiss is set in the near future (or since it was written in 1968, actually now a few years in our past). As an experiment to help deal with overpopulation, a huge structure with 10 levels is built, and group of volunteers are sent inside. They agree that they and their descendants will live there. They'll be fed well, but can not leave and they'll be monitored to see if population pressure over the generations causes them to develop any special abilities. The results are horrific, even though some of them do develop abilities. The story deals with an external inspector who goes inside to determine more of what's going on, and how this brings about an end to the experiment. The situation is very well described, very believable, and quite unsettling.
"Day Million" by Fred Pohl is a remarkable literary experiment. It starts:
On this day I want to tell you about, which will be about ten thousand years from now, there were a boy, a girl, and a love story.
Now, although I haven't said much so far, none of it true.
And it goes on from there. It's stylistically innovative and also solid SF, all in six pages.
"Aristotle and the Gun" by L. Sprague de Camp is the story of a scientist who goes back in time to meet Aristotle, in hopes of convincing him to use more of the scientific method, and that he'll return to his time to a world were the scientific revolution started much earlier and the world would be much more scientific and rational. But it doesn't work out that way.
"Under Old Earth" by Cordwainer Smith is another Instrumentality of Mankind story. It's set early in the time of the Rediscovery of Man, just as the Instrumentality begins to decide that trying to make everyone happy all the time, trying to banish everything bad, may make people less human. It's a hard story to summarize, so I'll just say that, like almost all of Smith's work, it rewards reading (and rereading).
"Come to Venus Melancholy" by Thomas Disch is about a woman who has become a "cyborg" (in this case, an immobile body embedded within electronics, her relationship with her husband on Venus, and her love of Milton's poetry. Like "Total Environment," it's a bit of an unsettling read, but it's very well written and a wonderful story, one of the best in a great book.
The volume also includes such well known stories as "Rescue Party" by Arthur C. Clarke, "Nine Hundred Grandmothers" by R. A. Lafferty, and "Beyond Lies the Wub" by Philip K. Dick, as well as an atypical (but still good) Jack Vance story, "The Gift of Gab."
The only story in the book that I thought was just OK (worth reading but nothing special) was Phil Farmer's "The Shadow of Space." It was written in 1967, but in most ways it read more like a story from the mid-1930s.
Overall, though, another strong anthology.
March 6, 2022
Favorites are “The Gift of Gab” by Jack Vance, Total Environment” by Brian W. Aldiss and “The Shadow of Space” by Philip Jose Farmer.
December 18, 2022
**** The Gift of Gab (1955) • Jack Vance
*** Beyond Lies the Wub (1952) • Philip K. Dick
**** Nine Hundred Grandmothers (1966) • R. A. Lafferty
* Total Environment (1968) • Brian W. Aldiss
*** Day Million (1966) • Frederik Pohl
*** Aristotle and the Gun (1958) • Sprague de Camp
**** Under Old Earth (1966) • Cordwainer Smith
* The Shadow of Space (1967) • Philip José Farmer
***** Come to Venus Melancholy (1965) • Thomas M. Disch
*** Rescue Party (1946) • Arthur C. Clarke
Notes: My second sample of Silverberg's Alpha series, not quite the quality of Alpha #5 ... overall impression dragged down by the Aldiss and Farmer stories, which are also unfortunately lengthy ...
Vance - a good aliens might be so alien we might not even recognize their intelligence story from the underrated Vance ... PKD - an early favorite, probably anthologized a hundred times, darkly amusing ... Lafferty - nothing quite like Lafferty at his best ... Aldiss - I like a lot of Aldiss but this so wrong in a British guy uses the culture of one of England's formerly colonized countries to create odious characters doing odious things in an odious setting to make an odious point sort of way ... Pohl - Pohl, for me, is very hit-or-miss but this one is short, punchy, entertaining, off the beaten track ... de Camp - a good entertainment, in the don't take time machines into the past if you know what's good for you butterfly effect sub-genre, for my money twice as good as Bradbury's famous A Sound of Thunder ... Smith - not my favorite Cordwainer but still, even merely very good Cordwainer is wondrous ... Farmer - as usual, Farmer is pretty awful, and this is very very awful ... Disch - fantastic and odd ... Clarke - only the second published story by Clarke (according to Silverberg's preface) and one of the better things I have read by him
*** Beyond Lies the Wub (1952) • Philip K. Dick
**** Nine Hundred Grandmothers (1966) • R. A. Lafferty
* Total Environment (1968) • Brian W. Aldiss
*** Day Million (1966) • Frederik Pohl
*** Aristotle and the Gun (1958) • Sprague de Camp
**** Under Old Earth (1966) • Cordwainer Smith
* The Shadow of Space (1967) • Philip José Farmer
***** Come to Venus Melancholy (1965) • Thomas M. Disch
*** Rescue Party (1946) • Arthur C. Clarke
Notes: My second sample of Silverberg's Alpha series, not quite the quality of Alpha #5 ... overall impression dragged down by the Aldiss and Farmer stories, which are also unfortunately lengthy ...
Vance - a good aliens might be so alien we might not even recognize their intelligence story from the underrated Vance ... PKD - an early favorite, probably anthologized a hundred times, darkly amusing ... Lafferty - nothing quite like Lafferty at his best ... Aldiss - I like a lot of Aldiss but this so wrong in a British guy uses the culture of one of England's formerly colonized countries to create odious characters doing odious things in an odious setting to make an odious point sort of way ... Pohl - Pohl, for me, is very hit-or-miss but this one is short, punchy, entertaining, off the beaten track ... de Camp - a good entertainment, in the don't take time machines into the past if you know what's good for you butterfly effect sub-genre, for my money twice as good as Bradbury's famous A Sound of Thunder ... Smith - not my favorite Cordwainer but still, even merely very good Cordwainer is wondrous ... Farmer - as usual, Farmer is pretty awful, and this is very very awful ... Disch - fantastic and odd ... Clarke - only the second published story by Clarke (according to Silverberg's preface) and one of the better things I have read by him
December 15, 2021
My father had a few classic anthologies hanging around when I was a kid and I read them over and over again. This one is new to me, although the Alpha series isn’t, but still manages to bring back some memories, stirring that feeling of reading the science fiction I was most exposed to in my youth.
In the light of all of the fiction I've read since, not all of the stories hold up very well. Two of them are standouts, though, and they're the first two stories in the volume, which, I suppose, set me up for several disappointments later in the book. "The Gift of Gab" by Jack Vance and "Beyond Lies the Wub" by Phillip K. Dick both really held me. R.A. Lafferty's "Nine Hundred Grandmothers" I've encountered elsewhere and still enjoyed, if not as much.
The rest of the book is full of big names from the 50s and 60s, some of whom were active writers into the 80s. Seven other stories, published from the late 40s to the late 60s complete the volume:
"Total Environment" by Brian W. Aldiss
"Day Million" by Frederick Pohl
"Aristotle and the Gun" by L. Sprague de Camp
"Under Old Earth" by Cordwainer Smith
"The Shadow of Space" by Philip Jose Farmer
"Come to Venus Melancholy" by Thomas M. Disch
"Rescue Party" by Arthur C. Clark
It's a solid collection, and if the science doesn't always hold up, remember that the latest of these stories was published in 1968 and the collection put together in 1972. A nice collection for classic SF fans or for someone looking to start an exploration of the history of the genre.
In the light of all of the fiction I've read since, not all of the stories hold up very well. Two of them are standouts, though, and they're the first two stories in the volume, which, I suppose, set me up for several disappointments later in the book. "The Gift of Gab" by Jack Vance and "Beyond Lies the Wub" by Phillip K. Dick both really held me. R.A. Lafferty's "Nine Hundred Grandmothers" I've encountered elsewhere and still enjoyed, if not as much.
The rest of the book is full of big names from the 50s and 60s, some of whom were active writers into the 80s. Seven other stories, published from the late 40s to the late 60s complete the volume:
"Total Environment" by Brian W. Aldiss
"Day Million" by Frederick Pohl
"Aristotle and the Gun" by L. Sprague de Camp
"Under Old Earth" by Cordwainer Smith
"The Shadow of Space" by Philip Jose Farmer
"Come to Venus Melancholy" by Thomas M. Disch
"Rescue Party" by Arthur C. Clark
It's a solid collection, and if the science doesn't always hold up, remember that the latest of these stories was published in 1968 and the collection put together in 1972. A nice collection for classic SF fans or for someone looking to start an exploration of the history of the genre.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews